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ABSTRACT
Since 1995, Corrections Services Canada CSC) has conducted randomized urinalysis screening of a minimum of 5% of the federal inmate population on a monthly basis. Urine samples are screened for a broad range of psychoactive substances. The stated purpose of such screening is to reduce substance use in federal jails. Analysis of data provided by CSC for testing between 1994 and 1998 reveals small but statistically significant increases in the percentage of all urine samples that tested positive over that time. Analysis of the results of screening for opiates, cocaine and THC from data provided by CSC for the same time period, shows steady rates of opiate and cocaine detection at maximum and medium levels of security, decreases in opiate and cocaine detection in minimum security, and statistically significant increases in THC detection at all levels of security. The implications of these findings are discussed.
ABREGE
Depuis 1995, chaque mois, le Service correctionnel du Canada (SCC) procede a des analyses d'urine prelevee de facon aleatoire sur 5% au moms de la population carcerale derenue dans les prisons federales. Les analyses des echantillons d'urine ont pour objet de detecter toute une gamme de substances psychoactives. Le but officiel de ce depistage est de reduire la toxicomanie dans les prisons federales. L'analyse des donnees fournies par le SCC pour les tests effectues entre 1994 et 1998 revele de petites bien que statistiquement significatives augmentations du pourcentage d'echantillons positifs. L'analyse des resultats des tests de detection des opiaces, de la cocaine et du THC a partir des donnees fournies par le SCC pour la meme periode revele des taux stables de detection de ces substances dans les etablissements de securite maximale et moyenne, des baisses des taux de detection des opiaces et de la cocaine dans les etablissements de securite minimale, et des augmentations statistiquement significatives de la detection du THC dans tous les etablissements: Cet article analyse ces resultats.
High-risk needle sharing continues to fuel the HIV epidemic among IDUs in Canada. As elsewhere, subpopulations of IDUs have been identified as requiring special attention.1,2 One such population of IDUs is found in the Canadian prison system. In one study,3 38% of female prisoners and 26% of male prisoners in a Quebec jail reported injecting...